


a home away from home

by forever_and_always



Series: where the heart is [5]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Andrew runs a group home, Foster Care, Group Homes, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Injury Recovery, Kid Fic, M/M, Oblivious Neil Josten, Protective Andrew Minyard, Raven Neil Josten
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 06:33:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18005681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forever_and_always/pseuds/forever_and_always
Summary: After suffering a serious injury, Neil has to deal with a new routine.---Or: Neil meets another new face, and multiple conversations are had.





	a home away from home

**Author's Note:**

> Long time, no see...
> 
> Thank you so much for the lovely comments on the previous works, and I hope you guys enjoy this part. Let me know what you think!!

After years of being free from the tyranny of the Ravens, leaving Nathaniel behind, and playing Exy professionally, Neil should have been accustomed to waking up in new places. His apartment was fine. He had been there long enough to catalogue every possible squeaking door or creaking floorboard. The only other inhabitants he had to deal with were his cats. The security system was the nicest money could buy, and there was something comforting about the fact that he wasn’t the only high profile resident the building’s management promised to protect.

The two weeks Neil had been at Andrew’s house were challenge he hadn’t expected. He’d dealt with injuries before, they were a common occurrence as a Raven and as a professional, but never to the magnitude he was currently dealing with. The first few days Neil had been too exhausted to worry about the concussion symptoms or his arm, and let Andrew take control. But when his head kept him up at night, the easier it made it for him to think about how his guest bedroom in the basement wasn’t quite right.

Andrew never said anything directly when Neil would trudge up the stairs in the middle of chaotic mornings dead on his feet, but he would banish Neil to the quiet den until he house settled down later in the morning. All the kids knew Neil was off limits unless Andrew specifically said otherwise.

The first night Neil managed to get a decent amount of sleep, he was woken up by the sounds of a piano. As beautiful as it might have been, Neil couldn’t think of a single reason why there would be a piano playing early in the morning.

He was supposed to be wake up to hearing the thumps of the older kids from above as they headed to the kitchen followed by their muffled, indistinguishable voices as arguments inevitably developed. Then, it would all grow silent as Andrew disarmed the dispute. Neil would wait for the quiet to continue for a few minutes and his cats starting to scratch at the door, wanting out of the room. He would take stock of how his head was feeling and slip his arm into its sling, before finally heading up to the main floor of the house, standing on the sidelines as the adults helping Andrew got everyone where they needed to be.

But the piano continued to play as the minutes ticked by, and Neil had yet to hear any raised voices or stomps, signs that the kids were up and awake. He waited in his borrowed room for a few more drawn out breaths. There was only one way to find out who woke him up this time, and he had already resolved himself to having another bad day ahead.

Sir and King bolted for the door the moment it was cracked enough for them to get through and hurried off to wherever they liked to spend their mornings in the new environment. They would come out eventually when they wanted something or one of the kids inevitably scared them out of their hiding places.

Standing in the hall, Neil could tell the music was coming from one of the room further down, in the opposite direction of the stairs that went up to the first floor. With each step Neil took towards it, the sound got louder and louder. He paused in front of the offending door containing the person who he was trying hard not to get mad at in that moment. If if was someone close enough to Andrew for them to be in the house, Neil knew there was no good outcome to hurting them, accidental or otherwise. He slowly pushed the door open to reveal a young woman sat behind the piano and staring intently at the stack of papers in front of her while she played through whatever was written on them.  

The girl only gave Neil the briefest of acknowledgements as she flicked her eyes up to meet his before returning to the page she was looking at. She also didn't stop playing when she realized he was standing there.

Neil could only guess this mystery person was Madelyn, Andrew's adoptive daughter. He recalled Sarah mentioning she would be coming soon when she had a break at school, but Neil didn't think it's be so soon. He missed meeting her the first time he was at Andrew's house, because she had been abroad. But in the time since he arrived with his injuries, he's heard everyone, except for Andrew, talk about her, though he respected the man's privacy and didn't ask why.

While watching her practice, Neil had a suddenly strong urge to make a good impression on her. He didn't know enough about music to recognize what he was hearing, but he did recognize true, dedicated talent when he saw it. For a split second, Neil was taken back to the first time he'd ever witnessed Andrew in action on the court.

The music drifted to a end.

Neil waited silently by as Madelyn organized her music then stood to face him with her hip rested against the side of her piano.

"Uh, hi. I'm Neil." He would have stretched his hand out for her to shake, but it was stuck close to his chest in a sling.

"I know who you are," Madelyn replied with a hostility he was not expecting. "Neil Josten, current captain and backliner for the Atlanta Eagles. Formerly known as Nathaniel Wesninski, son of a mob boss from Baltimore."

Neil couldn't stop himself from instantly tensing up. "Hey, there's no need for you to go there. I'm not him, and I haven't been in a long time."

"Yeah, sure. The kids might be too young to really remember what happened, but I'm not. I know you're dangerous, and now you're going to tell me why you're here."

For a second, Neil wanted to laugh. This whole situation and conversation was the last thing he expected to deal with when he opened the door earlier.

Madelyn didn't look like she'd be related to Andrew in any way. She was taller, hair darker, eyes greener, face rounder, but she held herself in a way that was proof that she had been brought up under Andrew's protection for a long time. Her casual stance masked her firmly set shoulders and tensely crossed arms, and it angled her towards the only exist in the room, forcing Neil to turn away from it. And Neil knew enough people scared by a troubled life to know Madelyn was covering up a sharpness about her, despite her initial outward softness and sweetness.  

"I wouldn't be here if Andrew didn't trust me, but I'm sure you know that too," he said. "And if it also wasn't obvious, I'm injured and healing with a pretty severe concussion right now, so I couldn't hurt anyone if I wanted to, which for the record, I really don't want to do."

Madelyn's expression morphed to blank neutrality while she scrutinized him. It must have been something else she picked up from her guardian.  

"If I'm to believe you, then what deal did you make with Andrew?"

"What?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh don't start playing dumb. Andrew would never do something for you if he didn't have some kind of arrangement with you."

"I first met Andrew back when I was in college and played for Edgar Allan. I was sent to recruit him, but he refused to join because of his brother and picked the Foxes instead. When all the shit started between Kevin Day and the Ravens, and he left, I asked Andrew to make sure he didn't get hurt again. In return, when I was still Nathaniel, I made sure two very bad men never saw the light of day again on behalf of Andrew and Aaron. Our deal's been settled."

Madelyn face shift from a look of analysis to confusion. "I don't understand. You must have a new deal then."

The corner of Neil's lip twitched in slight smirk. "That's not my answer to give." But he wasn't willing to admit he still wasn't totally sure why Andrew had been so insistent Neil stay with him.

"Fine," she said, knowing it was pointless to disbelieve in Andrew's trust. "I don't like this, and if you hurt any of the kids in this house, break just one of their hearts the smallest bit, and I'll sure you spend the rest of your life paying for it."

"If you know who I was, then you'll know I wasn't so fortunate to have someone like Andrew who cared enough about me to get me out of the life I had when I was young. I can promise you that I wouldn’t let anyone have any reason to believe I was like my father.”

"Well, I guess you passed the test." If Neil didn't already have a concussion, he would have gotten whiplash from Madelyn's change in tone. Gone was the hostility, instead it was replace with something almost warm. "But I wasn't kidding about the breaking hearts part."

"No, of course. I'll hold you to it." Neil was serious when he'd said he didn't want to hurt anyone. He desperately wanted Nathaniel to stay dead forever.

Madelyn pulled her phone out from her back pocket and checked the time. "My practice schedule is already messed up, but Dad should be making breakfast by now. Are you coming?"

"Okay."

 

\---

 

Andrew, Robin, and Renee were all in the kitchen when Madelyn and Neil arrived. As guessed, Andrew was in front of the stove cooking what smelled like eggs. The two women were off the side, Robin setting out dishes and silverware and Renee hovering over her son in a highchair as he gummed at something grey and mushy.

An avalanche of footsteps coming down the stairs preluded a blur of a small body and a young voice screaming, “Maddie!” In the blink of an eye, Levi had attached himself to Madelyn’s side.

Andrew turned away from the stove. “What are the rules, Levi?”  
The boy instantly stepped away, but his excitement didn’t wane.

Madelyn smiled down at him and bent a little to be more eye level. “Hey Levi, did you want a hug?”

“Uh huh.”

“Okay, buddy.” She opened her arms in and the young boy reattached himself to her.

After a moment he wriggled his way out of the hug and skipped over to Renee at the table designated for the kids.

When Neil still hadn’t moved from the doorway of the kitchen, Andrew turned around and pointed at an empty bar stool at the kitchen’s large, center island with the spatula in his hand. Neil didn’t protest at the silent command and was almost thankful to be told how to fit in with everyone else living in the house. Andrew divided what he was cooking in the pan on to two plates, and Madelyn brought one over to him and gave the other to Levi without needing Andrew to tell her what he wanted to happen.

With nothing else to do until her father finished making more food, Madelyn wandered over to the large cork board clogged with pieces of paper Neil hadn’t been able to decipher yet.  

"Oh, Alex is engaged? I'm so happy for them." She smiled at one of the postcard shaped things in her hands. When she caught Neil staring at her in confusion, she elaborated, "Alex was one of the first foster kids who lived here after the renovations were finished. They were only here for a few months before they turned 18 and went to college. I'll have to call to congratulate them later."

Renee swiped a soft rag across her son’s face in an attempt to control the mess running down his face. “I should let the rest of the Foxes know too, I’m sure they’d all want to send a gift.”

Andrew paused and the corner of his mouth twitched as if he was trying to decide if it was worth it to make a comment about his former teammates.

Footsteps on the stairs and then down the hallway announced the arrival of the rest of the kids to the kitchen for breakfast, each giving Madelyn their own version of a greeting when they saw her. Robin joined Neil on a bar stool at the island, Andrew scrambled up what was probably a dozen eggs, and as the noise in the room rose the more awake everyone got, Neil imagined what it would be like if this was his life every morning. Waking up to a quiet apartment with only his cats for company and scarfing down a protein shake before starting morning workouts seemed like they happened a lifetime ago instead of two weeks. And if it wasn’t for the thudding pain that was growing behind his eyes or the deep ache gripping his entire shoulder, he would have gotten lost in the potentially pleasant daydream.   

 

\---

 

The house settled down quickly when everyone was where they were supposed to be. Madelyn volunteered to join Renee and her son while they errands, and Neil took advantage of the complete peace haunt the house undisturbed. He hadn’t gone this long without doing anything related to Exy since he started playing as a child back in Baltimore. He couldn’t even go for a jog because of his injuries, and he was starting to get too restless. Anytime Neil so much as thought about going for even a walk in the woods outside, Andrew would materialize beside him and usher him to the closest place to sit. That combined with Madelyn’s comment from earlier meant Neil needed to confront Andrew about some things.

He found Andrew in the home’s small library, that during the day Sarah and Taze usually used to do their school work under the watch of Robin. He was lounging in an overstuffed chair idly leafing through a hard backed novel, and the kids were nowhere to be seen. Neil sat in the chair mirroring Andrew’s.

“Where’s Taze and Sarah?” he asked.

Andrew looked up with his put-upon, bored expression. “Not here.”

“You know what I mean.”

The other man set his book aside without using a bookmark. “Sarah wasn’t feeling well after breakfast so she’s resting in her room, and Robin decided Taze would benefit from having his lessons outside today. Satisfied?”

“Yeah,” replied Neil.

“And what about you? You looked ready to throw up at breakfast.”

“I’m fine.”

They both knew it was a lie, but Andrew didn’t call him out on it.

“I didn’t sleep much last night,” Neil eventually added. “Then Madelyn woke me up when she was playing the piano.”

Andrew frowned the tiniest bit. “I’ll tell her to hold off practicing until after breakfast.”

“No, it wasn’t a problem, besides we had an interesting conversation.” When Andrew didn’t indicate any disinterest in the conversation, he continued, “She threatened me if I hurt one of the kids. You’ve raised her well.”

Andrew’s expression was unreadable, but Neil wanted to think he saw the barest hints of pride and satisfaction buried deep. “I’ve trained her well.”

“She brought up something else, though,” said Neil.

“And that was?”

Neil took a minute to think with the fog in his brain. The Andrew who sat in front of him with a pair of reading glasses abandoned in his lap was so different than the Andrew he knew over a decade ago, but in the stillness of the moment Neil thought he could still traces of the man’s younger self.  “What do you want from me?”  
“Isn’t it obvious?”  
“I want you to say it.” And Neil meant it.

“Fine.” Andrew looked away and unclenched his jaw before locking eyes once more with Neil. “I want you.”

Neil had been waiting to hear those words for a long time, even after the notion of something like that had been beaten out of him. Since the moment he made his first deal with Andrew Minyard to protect Kevin Day, there had been other things drawing them together, and perhaps that’s why he stayed away for so long until Kevin unknowingly brought them back together.

“I have a life in Atlanta. I have Exy.”

“You don’t have Exy now, and you won’t always have it in future.”

Neil couldn’t deny the truth in Andrew’s statement.  
“Ask me what I want. Yes or no.”

“Neil Josten, do you want this. Do you want me.”

He imagined cigarette smoke curling in the space between their bodies like they were twenty again.

“Yes.”


End file.
